Sunday, April 26, 2009

Elections to the 15th Lok Sabha are to be held on the 30th April in Mumbai.

These are national elections.

While there will be regional, state-level and local issues that are important, we need to keep in mind that these elections are to choose the government at the Centre. Even though your selected candidate will represent your constituency in the Parliament, he will primarily address issues of national interest.

Since the party in majority will form the government, it is imperative that we choose a candidate whose party ideology matches ours and whose party has performed responsibly in the past.

So here’s where Gyaan Connect comes to your rescue!

Having gone through some really informative websites and some boastful ones, GC has compiled some valuable and unbiased information to help you become an informed voter.

So go ahead, read on. Make the right decision and make your vote count.

COMPARISON OF THE 2 MAJOR PARTIES CONTESTING ELECTIONS

IDEOLOGY

BJP:

·Hindutva -a concern for the voice of the majority in India – the Hindus

·Supporting nationalistic sentiments

·Guided by Good Governance, Development and Security

CONGRESS:

·Secularism, nationalism, social justice, and economic growth for all, especially for the Aam Aadmi.

·Well being of the weaker sections / minorities of the society

RECESSION/GLOBAL CRISIS:

BJP:

·Low tax, Low interest regime in order to increase the purchasing power of people

·Arrest the loss of jobs by heavy investment in public sector

·Support to Hindustan Diamond Corporation to revive the economic slump in diamond industry

·Focus – To stimulate demand in the domestic economy, to ensure more purchasing power in the hands of the people and more liquidity in the hands of companies.

oThree stimulus packages announced

oInterest Rates reduced

oCredit rates to industry encouraged

oFurther public investment in agriculture and infrastructure

·Balance in public and private sector, rejects blind privatisation

TAX:

BJP:

·Increase income tax bracket to Rs. 3,00,000 and a further exemption of Rs. 50,000 for women and senior citizens.

·Exempt cooperative banks from income tax

·Income of senior citizens by way of pension be declared tax free

·All personnel of the Army, Air Force, Navy, as also paramilitary forces will be exempt from paying taxes on their salaries and perquisites

·Income tax benefits will be offered at 60 years instead of the present 65 years

·Interest on bank deposits of all other than corporates & business income will be tax free.

·Goods and Services tax will be implemented at 12-14% and will abolish Central Sales Tax(CST) and Fringe Benefit Tax(FBT)

·ESOPS and Minimum Alternative Tax(MAT) will be rationalised

·Illegally stashed black money in Swiss bank accounts will be brought back and used for infrastructure development, housing, health and social welfare.

·All Dharmik activities will be considered charity and will get tax incentives

CONGRESS

·Will implement Goods and Services Tax which will abolish all central and state level indirect taxes such as VAT, Excise Duty, Entertainment Tax, etc.

EMPOWERMENT OF WEAKER SECTIONS / MINOROTIES & RESERVATIONS

BJP

·Boost opportunities for Entrepreneurship and Commerce among Dalits, OBCs and other weaker sections

·Education and job quotas for the Economically weaker sections not affecting the present quotas for OBCs/SC/ST

·Atrocities against the weaker sections will be firmly dealt with

·In contrast to the UPA years, when an additional 55 million people were pushed below the poverty line, BJP will bring families above the poverty line through aggressive policies and targeted development programmes

·Special provisions will be made for SC/ST/OBC and other underprivileged sections of the youth for skill development with focus on web-based training.

·Special focus to bring SC/STs/OBCs and women in the IT ambit development

·Financially empower women from Below poverty line/SC/ST

·National Policy on Women’s Economic Empowerment to enhance the income of all categories of working women. Remove gender discrimination in wages

·Content and process of education will be modified and the outreach of Information Technology to be extended to every child

·Reforms in all levels of education, primary, secondary and higher education to make the education system stronger and up-to-date

·A National Student Bank will be set up to meet the banking requirements including study loans of students for students at 4% interest rate.

·Study loans will be made cheaper and more accessible by fixing student loan interest at 4%

·National Knowledge Incubation programme will be launched for the meritorious students from all strata of the society and atleast 1% of the best brains will be deployed for mentoring at the incubation centre

·Committed to massive expansion of modern education among Muslims, particularly for the girl child.

·Ragging to be made a criminal offence with strict punishment, wherein school/college/university authorities will be help culpable failing to adhere to the law.

·New National Commission on Education

CONGRESS

·Students admitted to any recognized course in any recognized college/university will be provided, on a need basis, either a scholarship or an educational loan without collateral repayable over a very long period.

·Education at all stages — primary, secondary and university — will be free in all respects for boys and girls belonging to Dalit and Adivasi communities.

·Reforms favouring education of girl child

·A massive expansion in higher education has been undertaken in the past two years—8 new IITs, 7 new IIMs, 5 new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research, 30 new Central Universities, 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology and 374 new colleges in educationally-deprived districts

·Training programmes for teachers will be initiated and focus on improving physical environment in schools

YOUTH

BJP

·Propose to review, revive and relaunch the National Service Scheme(NSS) and National Cadet Corps(NCC) as effective vehicles to involve the youth in nation building and reinforcing their national spirit.

·Framing policies keeping in mind the concerns of Young India

·Encourage participation of the youth in decision making process and decision making bodies

CONGRESS

·SMEs and first generation entrepreneurs will be given access to collateral free credit, liberation from the multiplicity of laws and forms, and freedom them from the clutches of inspectors

·The Indian National Congress will design and launch a voluntary national youth corps which would enable young men and women in the age group of 18-23 to serve up to two years in constructive nation-building activities for which they will be suitably compensated.

·Will also make a beginning to induct youth into organs of government

·Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and the National Students Union of India (NSUI)

·The Indian National Congress has always been the party that has reposed its confidence in youth. It was Rajiv Gandhi who gave all 18 year-olds the right to vote and it was he who declared Swami Vivekananda’s birthday on January 12th as National Youth Day. The IT revolution that has spread in our country has opened up whole new avenues for our youth.

TERRORISM

BJP

Will implement the following things within 100 days of coming into power:

·Improve upon POTA to ensure it is more effective as an instrument of deterrence and as a tool to prosecute offenders without innocent people being harassed.

·Modernize Intelligence Agencies so that they are better equipped to use technology and cope with rapidly changing trends of terrorism

·National Security Council to be made accountable for real time intelligence dissemination

·A Digital Security Agency will be set up to enhance cyber security

·Reforms to be made to modernize police forces

·Launch a massive programme to detect, detain and deport illegal immigrants. Border management will be reviewed.

·National Maritime Authority to be set up to coordinate social security

·Special courts to be set up for speedy prosecution of those involved in acts of terrorism

·Better inter-state coordination and real time intelligence sharing to face the threats posed by Maoists.

CONGRESS

·Zero tolerance towards terrorism.

·What India needs is an intelligent and wise foreign policy, unlike the BJP’s muscular foreign policy. India requires a foreign policy that is rooted in our traditions, gives us strength through our unity and common purpose, and radiates confidence.

·After the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai, the Congress-led UPA government mounted a forceful diplomatic campaign. It was this campaign that led to Pakistan admitting, for the first time, that Pakistani citizens were responsible for the attacks.

ACHIEVEMENTS DURING THEIR REGIME

BJP

3 new states- Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand- Formed in 2000

POTA evoked to fight terrorism

Centre gave Rs.1000 crore each year to states for police modernization.

Sanctions after Pokharan lifted.

Over 10 lakh new employment opportunities generated for the youth.

IT-enabled sector growth. Today over 2.2 lakh job opportunities are created in ITES.

·CBI chargesheeted senior BJP leaders for inciting the demolition of the Babri mosque

·1 October 2001 - militants carried out attack, using car bomb and four suicide bombers, in Srinagar killing 38

2002

·Communal clashes happened in Gujarat under BJP rule, after an attack by a Muslim mob on a train comprising mostly of Hindu pilgrims. The state government of Gujarat (BJP led by Modi) has been accused of helping the Hindu mobs, a charge that it denies. The National Human Rights Commission criticized the government, pointing to "a comprehensive failure on the part of the State Government of Gujarat to control persistent violations of rights”

·22 January 2002 – Attack on American Cultural Centre in Kolkata killing 25

·25 August 2003 - Two Bombs go off in cars near the Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar killing 50

2004

·Controversy over the India Shining ads concerning the use of taxpayer’s money by States or Central Governments for political gain of the ruling party. The BJP government spent approximately Rs. 500 crores for the advertisements campaign during 2004 Parliament elections.

ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE

The rise of anti-Christian violence has been directly linked to the ascendancy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Human Rights Watch pins the responsibility for much of the violence on the Sangh Parivar; an umbrella group for the three principal Hindu Nationalist organizations, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

BARAK MISSILE SCANDAL

The Barak Missile Scandal is a case of defence corruption relating to the purchase of Barak Missile Systems by India from Israel. The case is currently under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation, and several people including the Samata Party ex-treasurer R.K. Jain have been arrested. Others named in the First Information Report include politicians George Fernandes and Jaya Jaitley, and arms dealer and ex-naval officer Suresh Nanda, who is the son of retired chief of naval staff S.M. Nanda.

HAWALA SCANDAL

The Hawala scandal or hawala scam was an Indian political scandal involving payments allegedly received by politicians through hawala brokers, the Jain brothers. It was a US$18 million bribery scandal that implicated some of the country's leading politicians. Those accused included Mr. L. K. Advani, Mr. Madhav Rao Scindia, Mr. Arjun Singh,and others.

GUJRAT FAKE ENCOUNTER CONTROVERSY

The 2007 Gujarat Fake Encounter Controversy started when the police of Gujarat state in India admitted on March 23 2007 to the killing of an alleged extortionist "Sohrabuddin Sheikh" in a staged gun battle on November 26, 2005. The police at that time had claimed that the man, belonged to the Pakistan linked terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba and was planning to assassinate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to avenge the death of Muslims killed in the 2002 Gujarat violence. The government also admitted that Sohrabuddin's innocent wife Kausarbi had been killed by the police and her body burnt in an attempt to remove the traces of the crime. It has been alleged by the Union Textile Minister Shankersinh Vaghela that Sohrabuddin and several other persons were killed in a similar fashion at the behest of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

CONGRESS

·1984: Anti Sikh riots.

·2005: Anti-Muslim riots of Mau, Uttar Pradesh.

·2006: Hindu-Muslim Alighar riots

·Terror strike in India in INC rule.

·Bofors Scandal

·Telgi Scam

·Cash-For-Vote Scandal

Notes-for-vote or cash-for-votes scandal is an alleged scandal in which the United Progressive Alliance, the majority-holding parliamentary-party alliance of India, openly bribed Indian MPs in cash or currency-notes to the tune of multi-millions to survive its very first confidence vote on 22 July 2008 in the Lok Sabha after the Communist Party of India (Marxist) led Left Front withdrew support from the government over India approaching the IAEA for Indo-US nuclear deal.

‘Except for Sonia Gandhi’s family, no one is rooting for him’- Narendra Modi

‘Some people within the country are more dangerous than terrorists’- Sonia Gandhi referring to the Opposition

4.

India’s first elected PM bereft of power

ENDING NOTE

For all those who have been on a long vacation, here’s the time to get back into action. It’s time we wake up and do our duties. It’s time we remember the promises we made post 26/11. It’s time to stop complaining and start making the right decisions. That’s right, it’s time we go out and VOTE.

What you just read covers the important details of the 2 major parties. However, the key is to make an informed decision. So whichever is the party you wish to vote for, make it a point to read their manifesto and review their past performance before you vote. Make the right choice, make your voice heard.